Meals: Four to Add to Your Rep

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When it comes to meals, what I have found is that all of us need a few simple, easy recipes in our repertoire. Recipes that require no thought, almost no preparation, and deliver a good nutritional punch. These are four standby meals from my kitchen; I always vary the side vegetable depending on the season. Sometimes I add a whole grain like wild rice or a risotto, depending on how hungry we all are, but the basic meal is here.

 

Salmon with Green Beans and Almonds

Salmon

  • Rinse salmon fillet in water and pat dry with paper towel
  • Place salmon (skin side down) in frying pan
  • Squeeze lemon juice on top (or skip it if you don’t have any)
  • Add salt and pepper
  • Cover with lid and turn heat to medium.
  • Set timer for 15 minutes.

Beans

While that is cooking,

  • place 2 inches water in a medium saucepan
  • Turn heat to high
  • Rinse green beans
  • Add to water when boiling
  • Cover with lid and set timer for 4 minutes

In the meantime, open package of sliced or slivered almonds.* Plate salmon when cooked. Drain beans and return to pan. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, a bit of olive oil, and salt to taste. Toss with almonds.

*If you’re really feeling fancy, you can toast the almonds: just place them in a small frying pan without oil on medium heat and toss regularly till lightly toasted. Toasting really brings out the flavor. 

 

Cod Fillet with Spinach

I like either Italian breadcrumbs or Panko for my cod. They both produce a nice thin crust that fancies up the fish just enough.

Cod

  • Place a pat of butter or oil (peanut and olive are nice) in frying pan over low-medium heat.
  • Rinse cod fillet in water and pat dry with paper towel.
  • Place fillet in breadcrumbs and turn to coat well.
  • Place fillet in frying pan and set timer for 3 minutes.
  • Flip cod and reset timer to 3 minutes.

Spinach

  • Place another pat of butter or oil in a saute pan.
  • When melted, add prewashed baby spinach.
  • Toss until all is wilted.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.

The cod can be eaten as is or with a spritz of lemon juice or ketchup or even tartar sauce if that’s how you like it.

Salads

Meals don’t have to be on plates with separate components; sometimes our evening meal is a giant salad in a bowl. It’s a good idea to always have some salad or leafy greens in your fridge for just this purpose. I like the prewashed ones because… it’s easy! If you’re hungry for more, there are some great boxed soups out there these days that can be heated up in a few minutes. Here is one of my favorites.

Protein-Packed Salad Bowl – version 1

First, toast pumpkin seeds (and/or walnuts) in small frying pan on low-medium heat

Then,

  • Place prewashed salad greens (or baby kale, baby spinach, arugula, whatever) in large bowl
  • Add chopped tomatoes
  • Drain and add canned cannellini beans
  • Add leftover grains from fridge (quinoa and any rice works great in a cold salad)
  • Add raisins or dried cherries
  • Crumble blue cheese over top
  • Add toasted seeds/nuts
  • Toss with balsamic vinegar and olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Protein-Packed Salad Bowl – version 2

  • Place prewashed salad greens (or baby kale, baby spinach, arugula, whatever) in large bowl
  • Add drained canned tuna
  • Add leftover grains from fridge (quinoa and any rice works great in a cold salad)
  • Add chopped cherry tomatoes
  • Add kalamata olives (buy them pitted)
  • Add chopped cucumber
  • Crumble feta cheese over salad
  • Toss with red wine vinegar and olive oil
  • Add a pinch of dried oregano
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 

 

 

Stock Your Pantry (& Freezer)

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Cute stocked vintage pantry. 

They say the worst possible time to grocery shop is on an empty stomach because the choices you make are going to appease your body’s worst cravings.

And I say the worst time to prepare a meal is when you are both hungry and have an empty fridge.

That’s when cookies and cheese for dinner start to sound mighty good.

But neither cookies nor cheese will replenish your body after a long day of dancing. Better to have a plan for those days when grocery shopping is out of the question and you need a quick, nutritious meal.

The solution is to keep your pantry stocked with non-perishable items that you can put together in a pinch to make a tasty, healthy meal. I am going to add freezer items to this list because, like the pantry, freezer items are just there whenever you need them. They don’t go bad and don’t require any care.

So here are some pantry and freezer staples and how you can use them.

  1. Canned tuna packed in olive oil
  2. Canned organic beans
  3. Vinegar (I like red wine, balsamic, and rice wine)
  4. Oils (I like olive oil, toasted sesame seed, and peanut)
  5. Lemon juice (See Shortcuts below)
  6. Whole grains (i.e. cracked freekeh, mixed wild rice, steel cut oats)
  7. Frozen peas
  8. Frozen leafy greens (i.e. spinach or kale)

Preparation Tips

Whole grains take a while to cook, so I like to do them in the morning while I’m getting ready or throw them in to cook while I’m eating dinner – then they’re ready for the next day.

For example, as soon as you get up, put a medium pot of water on the stovetop on high heat. As soon as it’s boiling, toss 1-2 cups of grain it in, lower heat, and set a timer. By the time you’ve showered and gotten dressed, they’ll be ready to drain and stick in a Tupperware for later. Or do the same while preparing your dinner. Once you have grains stored in your fridge or freezer, it takes no time to heat them up and add to the meals below.

Meal ideas

These meal ideas are quick and easy. They are not fancy and not for every night, but they work great as backup. You definitely want a backup plan for dinner so you don’t skip it or eat something useless.

  • Tuna tossed with warm peas: add lemon juice and olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.
  • Beans and kale/spinach: heat frozen greens; drain; add to drained beans (cooked or not); toss with your choice of dressing. Try peanut oil and tahini or toasted sesame oil and rice wine vinegar.
  • Tuna mixed with capers and kalamata olives, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper; eat over a bed of steamed greens.
  • Beans and grains. This is one of my go-tos. Doesn’t get any faster or simpler than opening a can of beans and tossing with pre-made grains. Jazz it up with grated cheese, if you have any or a nice oil and vinegar combo.

Shortcuts

In an ideal world, we wouldn’t take any shortcuts, but in the real world of evening exhaustion and nutritional need, shortcuts are sometimes necessary. So go ahead and buy the lemon and lime juices in the little plastic containers. (I like the Sicilia brand.) These keep forever in your fridge whereas real lemons and limes rot.

Also, I am a huge fan of ordering some foods online so that I can keep them in stock and not have to schlep them home. I order my tuna online here. For those of you who live far from a good grocery store (or don’t have time to shop), Bob’s Red Mill is a great place to get your grains online. Get a bunch so you never have to worry about running out.

And…get stocked! And then tell me about it. 🙂